The Illusion of Fairness

 

In the Catholic Peace Weekly, the director of the Jesuit Human Rights and Solidarity Research Center gives the readers some thoughts on education and its meaning in our society.  

A few years ago, a large-scale college admission fraud case broke out in the United States. Well-known wealthy parents spent huge sums of money writing applications, fabricating test scores, and bribing admissions officers with all sorts of extracurricular activities to get their kids into elite universities. Over this incident, there was a lot of criticism that education itself betrayed the 'meritocracy' that embodies the talent, effort, and will of the student, not the background of the parents. But why did rich parents in the US try to pass on college admissions rather than stocks to their children?

Political philosopher Michael Sandel saw in “The Illusion of Fairness” (original title “The Tyrant of Ability”) that these parents are buying something that is not as tangible as money, but that they consider to be much more valuable. At first glance, it is the value of ‘ability’ that seems fair. In an unequal society, the privileged firmly believe that their success and achievements are their own through their talents and hard work. That is why we need the ‘myth’ of meritocracy that one’s achievements are one’s own, not others’

Whether in Korea or the United States, the results of standardized tests are proportional to parents' income and wealth. High grades make me mistakenly believe that the hidden privileges behind the competition only come from my abilities. It is not that the principle of meritocracy has not been implemented, but meritocracy itself has nothing to do with fair qualifications or equality of opportunity.

Not long ago, the government's order to exclude 'killer questions' from the CSAT caused great controversy. This was not said out of a sense of desperation to address the educational inequality that makes Korea the most unfortunate country on earth. If so, the enormous impact of institutional change would have been observed very closely. Policies, deliberations, and agreements are not orders or shouts.  

For the privileged parents of Korea, education and housing (land) are living “gods.” So the problem lies not in the utility or fairness of the testing system, but in a much deeper abyss. We need to rethink what our life achievements are and question our socially constructed capacities.  

As long as the vain ideology of success and ability is left intact, private education and the ranking of universities will never disappear even if the exam system is changed. Why are we educated? Education has an 'inherent value', which is good in itself and not because of anything else. It is to achieve human welfare and happiness by cultivating knowledge, skills, attitudes, and inclinations that are helpful not only for myself but also for others. The power of education enables us to grow and change, and to become people who contribute to the well-being of others. This process is dynamic in that not only schools but also families and communities as a whole are involved in education.The face of education is the face of society.  

When we see education as a tool to determine status rather than its original aspect, the face of society changes completely. In an environment where only a few are winners and the rest are losers, everyone ends up in an unhappy society. If we've experienced these failures, shouldn't we go about changing it now?

Pope Benedict XVI made this request. “The educational field is the place where God is with us and gives life to our work. Here our young people find the joy of entering into Christ who exists for others. It is moving from 'I' to 'we' and becoming a member of God's people.” ('Meeting with Catholic Educators', April 17, 2008) How far is the distance between the person who insists on claiming his talent as mine and tries to pass it on at any cost and the person who considers it a privilege that is owed to others? Between the two there is a world of difference.